A GP on demand service has launched a crowd-funding campaign to try and raise £500,000 so it can expand. 

ZoomDoc, which was founded by Dr Kenny Livingstone, is a paid-for service which allows users to book an NHS-registered GP to come to their home.

The app, which promises a GP will see you within one hour, was soft-launched in the UK in May and has been downloaded 5,000 times since then.

Livingstone told Digital Health News that increasing demand for the app prompted the crowd-funding campaign and as a result it needed to recruit more GPs to enable further technological developments.

The cash-pot will also allow ZoomDoc GPs to cover other major towns across the UK as it is currently only being used in London, this includes investment in marketing to help raise awareness about the service.

His ‘frustration’ working as a GP and not being able to deliver care to enough patients was the driving force behind ZoomDoc.

“I wanted to create an app so a GP could work on demand and can work on their terms,” Livingstone said.

“I can log into the app wherever I am in the UK and choose how far I am willing to travel.”

ZoomDoc works by patients logging on to the app and then choosing a local doctor who is on call before requesting a home visit or telephone advice.

Home visits start at £99 while telephone advice starts at £25.

However the website states that these prices can increase during evening, weekends and bank holidays.

You can see how the app works in the video below.

Livingstone said ZoomDoc is aimed at those who are prepared to pay to see a doctor, adding that the app does not ‘cherry-pick’ patients which is what video consultation app, GP at Hand, was accused of.

He also said a recent call out was an example of how ZoomDoc can ease the pressures on A&E departments.

“I received a call from parents of a 14-week-old baby who could not get access to their GP and was told by NHS 111 to go to A&E.

“However I managed to see the child within 30 minutes because of ZoomDoc and the parents avoided a trip to A&E’.”

Looking to the future, Livingstone said he is hoping to eventually work with the NHS.

“We want to work with the NHS and support it,” he said.

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